


Ain't no Place for a Hero

by MillaMaxwell



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: M/M, jack can be a nice guy if he wants, post episode 4, story with lighter tone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-16 21:29:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4640853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MillaMaxwell/pseuds/MillaMaxwell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Letting the ex-CEO of Hyperion into the main system may not have been one of Rhy's best ideas, but now it is too late for regrets.<br/>Fitted in a new body and strangely attached to his  former meat bag this literally screams for problems, because not everyone is happy with his return and plans to get the company back to its former glory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 01

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little idea I got after finishing ep. 4.  
> What if Jack wasn´t a complete asshole for a minute.
> 
> Well let´s see how this turns out.  
> As always, english isn´t my first language if you find any weird errors just tell me so that I can correct it.

Chapter 01

 

"Okay Rhysie, you know how this works. Just plug in this fancy looking thing above you and we're good to go."

"What exactly does this do?" Skeptically he eyed the contraption above him.

"What? You don't trust me? I thought we were past this already…"

Jack materialized directly in front of him, forcing Rhys to back away even though he couldn't hurt him in his current form.

"Look. All it does is getting me out of your head and into the system of Hyperion. You wouldn't even feel a thing and before you know it, you´re no weirdo anymore who speaks to himself and shit.

It's quite a win win situation if you ask me"

Should it really be that easy? He'd known him for a while now and if there was one thing that he couldn’t be sure about, it was that Jack never did anything out of good will…

"Come on kiddo, don't leave your old buddy Jack hanging like that. Me and you, we could do so much for this company, but for this to happen, you have to get me out of your head."

Rhys didn't know what to do. His dreams could still come true, with Jack's help that is, but was that really what he wanted anymore?

Even with all the danger he had to agree with Vaughn, that their time on Pandora was real fun. Fiona and Sasha might disagree on this, but still…

But Jack owed him and he probably knew that just as much as him. Without him, they wouldn't be here.

"…okay, but…"

"…yeah…?"

"I don't think that I would be the right choice to be your successor."

The hologram just shrugged its shoulders: "Fine by me. It was just a suggestion after all."

"Good that we…"

"Then you'll be my second in command!"

"Wha…!"

Before he even had the time to react, Jack took control of his arm and connected him to machine.

"See you in a while,kiddo."

And with that he was gone to god knows were.

"Huh, weird."

Suddenly being by yourself again was really strange. Well he didn‘t had to hide his thoughts anymore. But there would also no one there, if he really wanted to talk to someone, especially when the others were ignoring him again…

But in the end he knew that it wouldn't be forever. Later he would have enough time to mourn his loss, but for the moment there were other matters at hand, like getting the beacon to Gortys, who should still be waiting down in the basement.

"I wonder why I haven't heard from her yet…"

Opening the Trapdoor he saw, that the machine was still out. He definitely had to apologize to Fiona for keeping her in that Position for so long.

 

 

"So you're Yvette?" asked Fiona, her voice not hiding the feeling of disgust, that ran through her body.

"Rhys believed in you."

She just shrugged her shoulders: "That is his own problem, not that it matters anymore since he is _dead_."

"I don't know why you were after him, but…"

"And you will never find it out," Yvette interupted her, "Pandorian intruders in Hyperion…we have to set an example before more trash like you decides to come here…"

The soldiers raised their weapons ready to shoot both girls…

 

 

"Where did they go?"

As Rhys finally reached the bottom floor he was greeted to an empty room.

He couldn't have been away that long, right?

The room didn't look like they were fighting in here…so where could they be?

"Pandorian intruders in Hyperion…we have to set an example before more trash like you decides to come here…"

Was that Yvette?

Damn, he hoped that they didn't ran into her…Looks like their plan completely failed…

Carefully he made his way to the place, where the voices were coming from and hoped that no one would See him.

He couldn't believe his his eyes, as he saw that they not only got Fiona and Gortys, but Sasha too. The situation seemed to get worse with every passing minute. And they were right about to execute them!

He had to think up a plan and fast.

Why couldn't Jack be here right now? His skill could really come in handy…

"Well then I have to try it in my own…"

He saw what Jack did so normally he should be able to imitate him. Just like that one time with Vasquez.

"Come on…"

His Echo-Eye was working furiously, trying to hack itself into their system. And then, just like last time he was able to access the essential parts of the weapons only this time without the remarks from his former holographic friend.

"Gotcha."

From this time on, he hadn't any Problem to make the weapons do exactly what he wanted. And that they did. Immediatly after he gave the order the weapons begann to overheat until the soldiers were no longrr able to hold them.

"What the hell?!"One of them cried out after he throw his gun to the floor.

"A hacker?" gritted Yvette through her teeth.

"Not quite."

Well they didn't expect this that was for sure.

"Rhys?" Yvette's demeanor changed in a blink of an eye.

"Spare me. I know what you were up to." He just told her before facing his friends: "You alright?"

"Not even a scratch." Fiona told him.

"Rhys? Why are you living in a place with so many bad people?" Gortys asked.

"Well…" he scratched his head.

"Not all are…uh scratch that…actually I have no idea."

And suddenly he was facing Yvette’s gun.

"You don't have to do that..."

"That may be true, but there is still a lot of money on your head, so how about this time you'll die for real?"

Rhys sighed slumping his shoulders in defeat: "I think I have a good idea of what it is, that this company is after, but I have to disappoint you. There is nothing inside here anymore." He tapped his port with his Finger.

"Your lying! Where else should it be?"

"Oh, it's right behind you, sweet cheeks."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Impossible, Rhys thought as he recognized the voice.  
“How did you…?”  
Now everyone else turned around, the horror visible in their faces as they recognized the person standing before them.  
“You should be dead…” Yvette took a few steps back.  
“Honey, heroes don't die.” Handsome Jack laughed, scaring the people around him even more.  
“But you know, I'm not really happy about this situation. You see, Rhysie here is like my pal and stuff so shooting him in the face is a no no.”  
Oh great now all of them were staring at him…He had a lot of explaining to do later…or he could just run away, he would decide when the time came.  
“Maybe~ this isn't the best place to talk about this?”  
“Come on Rhysie, don't say that your ashamed of me now just because I'm not living in your head anymore.”  
“Okay, this is getting weird now.”  
As glad as he was, that Jack had his own body now, he wished, that he could stop talking at least for a minute…or until he could explain it to his friends.  
“I don't know what you are planning at Rhys, but I'm not buying it!” She raised her gun again ignoring Jack who just raised his eyebrows.  
“Uhhh…Yvette? I know your thinking that this is just some kind of trick, but actually this is the real Handsome Jack. So treating him like a bandit might not be good to your health…”  
“Shut up Rhys, I have enough of you!”  
Her finger was pushing down the trigger and he imagined the worst as suddenly her whole body began twitching like crazy and she fall down on the floor, unconscious.  
“Man this woman is annoying…in my time I wouldn't even have hired her for toilet duty… Why you didn‘t zap her when you had the chance is beyond me, cupcake.”  
Jack, holding Rhys' stun baton in hand, just shook his head.  
“Well, looks like there is a lot of work for me to do, to get this company on the right path again. Oh and you really shouldn’t forget your weapons all the time, I can't clean up behind you all the time.”  
He threw the weapons back to Rhys.  
“And you,” he turned around to the soldiers, who were still standing there, probably wishing they were somewhere else.  
“Why don‘t you do us all a favor and search for a suitable airlock that you can jump out?”  
Rhys never saw those guys run so fast in his live.  
“Whoa!” Gortys suddenly interrupted them, “That was so cool mister! Are you a friend too?”  
“Friend is maybe a bit farfetched…” mumbled Rhys and went to the two girls who were standing a bit away from them. Gortys should keep Jack busy enough, so that he could have a word with them… They looked angry. Understandable, because he was practically lying every time they asked him if something was wrong with him.  
“There he is: Mister there is nothing wrong with me…How long did you wanted to keep it from us, that you were being all goody with the nemesis of Pandora.” Asked Fiona, her pocket gun ready to shoot.  
“I don't understand it quite yet, but shouldn’t Handsome Jack be dead? Why is he appearing now?”  
“This is a long story,” Rhys answered honestly.  
“We have time.“ Fiona looked over to Gortys. “Hey! This guy practically owns this whole space station. I'm pretty sure that he can tour you around for a while.”  
“Yay!”  
“Hey I'm not a tour guide! I…!”  
One look of Fiona was enough to shut him up, damn that woman could be scary…  
“Since that is settled, why don't we have nice long chat?”  
He could only watch in envy, as the former CEO and the robot disappeared down the hallway. They would definitely have a better time than him.  
“Why don't you sit down. It's going to be a long story,” he suggested.  
“It all started as I plugged in that device from Dr. Nakayama…”

 

He told them everything that had happened and surprisingly they didn’t look as shocked as he feared they would be.  
“At least this explains some of your weird actions,” said Fiona.  
“Some of my weird actions?“”  
“Sorry Rhys, but most of the time it is really hard to take you seriously.” Sasha patted his shoulder apologetically.  
“…Thank you. At least I know now what my so called friends think of me…”  
“Well, you kind of deserve it.” Answered Fiona, “Why didn´t you tell us about Jack?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Uh sorry but, but if I remember history correctly, he isn´t really the most loved person on Pandora…and he kind of didn´t want me to tell you about him…so yeah I thought it was save if I kept my mouth shut about him.”  
“Geez, a guy afraid of two harmless women?”  
“Harmless? Are you mistaking yourself for someone else?”  
Sasha smacked him over the head.  
“Ouch!”  
“Don´t get cocky with me…but really…I know that trust was quite an issue right from the beginning, but…argh! I don´t know how to say this…It would have been really nice, if you had talked about this.”  
“I…I know…I just, didn´t wanted for our journey to end, I guess, because of this. I´m sorry…I promise that I will be honest from now on.”  
He doubted that they believe him, but he could at least try.  
“Let´s see how long you can keep this up,” grinned Sasha, looking as happy as ever.  
“So we´re still in this together?” he asked carefully.  
“Of course, we need a human shield after all,” laughed Fiona.  
“Hey I´m not that useless!”  
“As far as we know Jack did most of the work, so you still have to prove your usefulness to us.”  
“Well then…how about I start right now with giving Gortys her beacon, so that we can finally search for that vault?”  
“The one from Jack´s office?”  
“Hey at least I haven´t lost it until now!”  
“Then we better find them. I hope he isn´t planning to abandon us with her…”  
Rhys just rolled his eyes: “Can I remind you, that it was your idea to send those two of to some other place? And as far as I know, he was more eager to get back here then conquering a vault.”  
“Let´s make no false assumptions. I bet that Gortys is keeping him in place.” Said Sasha and pushed them forward.  
Staying here for too long was probably not the best idea. Who knows who else was already on their trail…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had my fun writing this chapter XD  
> Jack x Gortys Friendship is deffinitly something that will remain in this story, those two are just too cute together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is chapter 3.  
> Not much action, but I change that in the next one.
> 
> Have fun :D

Chapter 3

Finding those two was easier than they thought.

“See? Nothing bad happened.”

Handsome Jack and Gortys were standing by one of the panorama windows that gave a good view of Pandora.

“That is so cool! Can you show it to me? I really wanna see that!”

“Maybe another time,” Fiona commented as the three approached them. “Sorry for interrupting you, but we have pressing matters at hand. Don´t you want your last beacon, Gortys?”

“You have it here? Oh I wanna see it!”

She started to jump up and down.

“Maybe here isn´t the best idea? I mean it´s a wonder that no one had come up to Jack yet,” mumbled Rhys.

“Oh they did cupcake. You know they kind of reminded me of little dogs that will do everything to please you. One word and they all left.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“But I bet they will alert the less fun people, so why don't we find ourselves a nice empty office room? Rhysie here should be able to deactivate the security system.”

And probably murder him on the spot if he called him Rhysie again in front of the girls. They were already sharing the same amused look on their faces and it bordered on a miracle that they hadn't said anything about it yet.

“As long as it is nothing like your office, I should be fine.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let's go guys!” Gortys didn't look like she could wait any longer, but activating the beacon where everyone in Hyperion could see them was probably not the best idea. Especially if she pinpointed the location of the vault. They had enough problems with Vallory and her men, they definitely didn't need the Hyperions to be a part of it as well…

Rhys activated his Echo-Eye and began to scan the building. Most of the rooms where occupied at this time, but then he found what they were looking for.

“Found one,” he announced.

“It’s a bit away from here, but they won't find us there that easily…Let me just deactivate the cameras…done. We only have like five minutes, but it should be enough. Let's hope that no one notices this before we reach the room.”

They ran through the hallway, always careful that nobody saw them and raised the alarm.

“It's the door at the end. Everyone ready?”

He received confirming nods and together they made their way across, keeping their heads down until they reached their goal.

“Hurry! I think I hear someone!” whispered Sasha urgendly and forced Rhys to hack a little faster.

“It's open!”

Almost too late, as a person appeared around the corner in that exact moment.

They closed the door behind them as fast as they could.

“That was almost too close.”

“Why do I have to sneak around in my own company?” strangely he just now mentioned that.

“Because I'm sure the people that are working at the top now wouldn’t be too happy about the fact that their old boss wants to reclaim his status…and probably kills them afterwards…”

“True, but still this is ridiculous.”

“Well you have to live with it for now _your highness,_ at least those Hyperions are idiots, but we still have Vallory's henchmen to worry about. They are still around here somewhere and had probably already noticed, that our plan didn't work out as expected…“

“I don't know why I even have this conversation with you right now. Why are you seeing everything so complicated?”

“Because it is? “Handsome Jack was dangerous and getting on his bad side was probably not a good start, even Fiona knew that, but it seemed the man lost some of his screws, being away from a real body for so long.

“Really pumpkin? Your speaking to the man who mostly redesigned this whole space station, but if you don't want my help, I'm sure that one of your bandit friends outside will figure something out.”

“Fi? I know how you feel, but even I think that we should hear him out. We can still kill him afterwards, if he was just messing with us.”

“I can still hear you, you know?”

“Guuuuuyyys?” cried Gortys who could just watch helplessly.

“What about my beacon? When can I have it?”

“Oh sorry Gortys, I kind of forget….“ Apologizes Rhys and handed her little sphere like object.

“Yay! I wonder what it will do.”

The Moment it touched her hands the beacon began to glow.

“This kind of reminds me when we found the Gortys Core…”

They looked in awe as the whole room was illuminated.

“This looks like a map of Pandora. Is there anything marked on it?” asked Sasha.

“There is something, but it is really hard to grasp…”murmured Gortys a bit unsure.

“Could it be the vault of the traveler?”

“Just a moment, I think I can give you the coordinates…Yes! There it is! This is definitely a vault! Shall I try to hold it on its current position?” The little robot had completely changed. Nothing of her childlike demeanor was showing.

“What do you think?” asked Rhys the others. If they pinned the vault in this location their travel almost reached its end and Vallory would probably win…

“Let it go for now…” Fiona said, “The vault is always traveling around, right? So as long as we have Gortys no one else should be able to reach it. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure if it is a good idea to pin it just yet. Maybe we should wait until we're actually save and nobody can interfere.”

“I think I can agree with you on this. The less people there are the better.” Said Jack surprising everyone around him.

“What? You coming with us now?”

“Wouldn't be my first vault…” he answered shuffling slightly from one side to the next .He wasn’t telling them everything, but none of the was brave enough to ask.

“Well then it's decided. We wait until the time is right. Let's hope that luck is on our side…”

 

 

“Whew…”

Gortys leaned against the wall, looking drained.

“If I knew that it was this tiresome I would have declined that beacon…I’m didn’t even change…”

She was a bit sad, that her body didn't alter like last time, but she probably wouldn’t keep that up very long.

Now that they had all the pieces, it was only a short way to reach their goal, but with all the obstacles in their way, it wouldn’t be as easy as they thought. Only one person was enough to ruin their whole adventure and if word got out of a rare vault that only appears in one spot for five minutes, they would have all vault hunters of Pandora on their trail…especially Fiona wasn’t happy about that thought, having met some of them personally and knowing how dangerous they can be.

“So…what do we do now? I mean besides getting away from Hyperion and getting rid of Vallory?” Rhys asked.

“We still have our ship, but I’m not sure if we can survive a travel back…with the rockets gone all it probably does is floating round…”

“Or we couldn’t use my super secret space ship that I built for emergencies. It should still be around here if nobody found it.” grinned Jack. It was obvious that he had waited for the best opportunity to boast about this.

“And you just telling us this now why…?”Fiona looked like she wanted to strangle the guy.

“You didn't ask, pumpkin. If you remember I DID offer my help a while ago.”

“Oh oh!” Gortys suddenly joined the round. “Is it that giant eye? The one in the pictures?”

“The what?”

Oh god…it was just a lie to trick those idiotic fan boys…well this is embarrassing…


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone :)  
> Thanks to all who read the story so far. I actually wasn´t expecting so many people to like.

Chapter 4  
“You know what I'm really asking myself for a while now?” Sasha looked over to Jack who hadn't been too far away from Rhys since they decided to find Loader Bot and get the hell out of here.  
“What is it?”  
“As far as Rhys told me, you were only an IA. How did this whole getting your body back thing work?”  
“I'm actually wondering about this too,” admitted Rhys.  
“There is not much to talk about really. When your long enough in that killing and reviving business you know how a spare body would come in handy. So I stored one for me, just in cased. Not that I actually believe that I would die of course.”  
“Well then it is good that you thought ahead, right?” laughed Fiona.   
“Don’t remind me…”  
The whole matter of actually dying was kind of a sore spot for him. Not that it would stop the girls from reminding him all too often. Hopefully he would remain calm and they all would leave Hyperion alive.

 

With Sasha being busy with Rys all that was left was Jack…and Gortys, but she was too much in awe for the Hyperion base as that she would be a good conversational partner.  
“Still it's kind of weird, that you hadn't tried to kill us yet. I mean we're from Pandora right? Shouldn’t you hate us?” She had a point here.  
“Oh I do, but there are some things that I must do, before I can get back to that.”  
“Right…” She didn't look like she believed a word he said. „Like watching Rhys like hawk? Don't even try to deny it it's quite obvious you know?“  
“Cupcake are you sure, that you have no mental health issues? All I do is keeping an eye out for him, just like he asked me to. That is all. Ask him if you don't believe me.”  
“That may be true, but to me it looks more like you´re ready to pounce him. I know that you guys shared a body for a while, but are you sure, that there isn't more to it?”  
“Like what?”  
“Affection maybe? Call it what you want.”  
“Pff…dream on, all that he got in that pretty little head of his is that Sasha girl…oh and his strangely muscled friend...” He shrugged his shoulders. You couldn’t see it from the outside, but Fiona was sure, that it troubled him more, than he let on.  
She was probably not the best choice to ask about love, but even she wasn’t that blind.  
So Jack loved Rhys…Rhys seemed to have feelings for Sasha…and Sasha probably also had feelings for Rhys…  
No wonder why he had given it no real try. A one sided love didn’t end well in most cased, but maybe…  
She shook her head. What was she thinking? Would she really risk the happiness of her sister to get those two together? Especially if you took into account that it was still not sure if Jack wouldn’t betray them all in the end. He was a double-crossing son of a bitch…at least that is what Felix has always told her, but still…was it really impossible for a person to change?  
“I wouldn't give up so easily.”  
She repeated apologizes to her sister in her head over and over.  
“What? You're on my side now?”  
“Don’t get it in your head.”  
He just grinned: “So there are some good people on Pandora too? Who would've guessed?”  
“Remember it for the next time, you try to kill us all.”  
“I don't make promises on that.”  
“No surprise here…”  
Still it was a really weird experience talking to him. With all the past stories and all…  
“Look! We’re almost there!”  
Gortys pointed in the direction of the hangar and sped up.  
“W..wait!”  
But it was already too late. She vanished behind the next corner and the others tried their best to keep up, but to no avail.  
“Damn her childlike curiosity!” Fiona cursed under her breath, running as fast as she could. Rhys, Jack and Sasha right behind her, only to run straight into something that felt like a brick wall.  
“Ouch…! What the hell!?”  
It was a Loader Bot.  
Not their friend though. But definitely just as deadly and he brought some of his friends.  
“Take cover!” she screamed and rolled behind one of the columns that hold the roof. Only a second later the spot where she stood was riddled with bullets. Throwing pieces of solid ground everywhere.  
“A trap, huh?” Rhys was standing just a few feet away from her, hiding behind another column.  
“Your persistency is quite annoying.”  
“Hey, don't throw me in with guys okay?”  
“Whatever Rhys…Do you have a plan to get us out of here? I actually wanted to live a bit longer.”  
He shook his head: “Not yet, but I figure something out I just need more time.”  
“Then you better think a bit faster!”  
Fiona had to dive to the next column as hers shattered to the ground. The impact of the bullets being too much.  
“Well this screams for countermeasures. Good thing I designed this place.” Jack grinned, swiftly avoiding any attack that was sent his way.  
“Hey Rhysie, think you and your friends can give me a back up, for a while?“  
“What do you want to do?” asked Sasha.  
“You'll see. Now can you or can you not?!”  
“Okay okay, we'll see what we can do…” Rhys gave in and run through the hall, reaching the other end mostly unscratched.  
They had to turn their focus away from Jack, so that he could do whatever it was that he was planning.  
“Playing a human decoy is definitely not something that I wanted to do in my life…” muttered Fiona angry and began shooting the robots. Which luckily fell for their plan immediately and started attacking them.  
“Why are we trusting him again?” asked Sasha annoyed, trying not to get hit by any missiles.  
“Because he is probably the only one that can get us out of here?” provided Rhys.  
“Don´t know, if that makes me feel any better…”  
“Can we please continue this another time?” screamed Fiona over the noise of the guns, “This is definitely not the time for this!”  
“That´s what I wanted to do the whole time!” Rhys screamed back.  
“Then do it already!”  
Rhys ranted something about useless woman and dived right in the action, stun baton in hand. He didn´t look like he had any kind of plan, but he still did a good job in keeping those guys busy. Dodging an attack that was meant for him and getting hold of one of the robots, he climbed it, kind of reminding the others of a really bad rodeo rider.   
As an engineer he knew where the power source were and that was exactly where he reached his hand now. It was not an easy task with him being thrown around, but he somehow managed it, short circuiting it with a well aimed hit.  
That was one down, but still five more to go…  
“Crap…uh Jack? Any minute now would be great…!”  
Silence greeted him from the normally talkative man and then…there was a loud bang…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fiona is kinda turning into a mother hen in this chapter...I wasn´t sure, what to do with her, regarding the whole Rhys/Jack relationship thing, as she is from Pandora and probably experienced Jack´s reign of terror herself, but after travelling with Rhys and Vaughn so long she maybe understand them a bit more and sees that they are not as bad as she thought. As for Sasha? Let´s just say, that she won´t give up without a fight, but I have plans for her too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again.  
> Sorry if it´s a bit late, but I´ve been ill for quite some time now and it doesn´t really help my motivation to sit down an write at the moment...

Chapter 5

Hell broke loose the moment the smoke subsided showing an image of absolute destruction. Whatever it was that Jack did Rhys wouldn’t mind if he did it again.

“That is for messing with me! No one ever told you that you don't make fun of your boss?”

There he stood in all his glory, some kind of rocket launcher strapped to his back.

“Okay I have to admit that this is cool,” said Sasha, her sister being no less in awe about that display.

“Just count yourself fired as of today.”

He unleashed another round, giving their enemies no chance to flee before being totally obliterated. Robot parts flying everywhere almost hitting his so called allies. Rhys pushed Fiona out of the way just in time before she got herself decapitated.

“That guy is not messing around that's for sure…” she said as she got back on her feet brushing the dust from her clothes, looking around the chaos that was left behind.

“Unbelievable…”

“At least we don't have any problem to get to the hangar now,” said Rhys to lighten the mood only to get a „are you for real“-look from the two girls.

“What are you still waiting for? I thought you wanted to get away from here?”

He flung an arm over Rhys shoulder and let them away from the battlefield.

“I hope Gortys is okay,” muttered Sasha, after being separated she had just vanished. If she fell in the wrong hands now everything would be lost.

“There is only one way so you don't have to worry about her getting lost,” answered Rhys.

“Maybe…but what about Vallory’s henchmen? I haven't seen them in a while now and I'm worried that they had a plan if something like this ever occurred…”

“Don’t worry. You will see everything will be alright.” Fiona smiled at her.

“Yeah…your right…geez I'm sounding like she is my daughter…haha.”

“To be honest Gortys isn't really behaving like a robot should. She is more like a real human, so it's no surprise that you´re feeling about her that way.”

“True.”

“Looks like they are their old selves again. After the betrayal with Felix they seemed oddly distant to each other…” muttered Rhys as he watched the two girls chatting away.

“Kiddo, I have no idea what you are talking about, but you really should keep your eyes in front of you.” Jack said matter of fact.

“What do you…?”

In the last second his head was pushed down to avoid colliding with a steel pipe that was hanging low from the ceiling. Probably due to the explosions that Jack caused…

“Sometimes I wonder how you survived that long…oh right, because of me…”

“I'm not that clumsy!”

“Really? Because I remember that time when you…”

“Okay okay…please don't remind me…!”

Rhys tried his best to avoid his gaze, he knew that the ex-CEO hated such behavior, but he just couldn’t help himself. Jack was still his Idol, even now when he had seen his true character…

And yes he was admiring him a lot. To get acknowledged by him as an equal partner…his heart beating faster when he was near him…

No that was not right. Feeling about him THAT way…

Rhys never considered himself gay and Jack would probably make fun of him again if he found out…

He would never reach Jack's standards that was for sure…

“Hey pumpkin a Loader hit you on the head or something? Cause your zoning out a bit too much for my taste…”

“Wha…? Oh sorry, I was thinking of…something…”

“Is that “something” maybe me?”

Rhys could feel the heat rushing to his face as he looked away. Jack was just messing with him, like always. There was nothing more to it, right?

“Just hoping that we get away from here safe…” he quickly answered.

“Sure…if that´s what you´re saying…“ Jack got closer to him with every word, he could feel the warm breath on his skin.

“Hey what are you doing? I hope you don't plan to escape on your own and leave us here to die.”

Sasha interrupted the scene quite successfully, pushing Rhys away from Jack. She whispered something in his ear and they fell a bit behind.

Fiona just looked at Jack apologetic, mouthing „I tried“ to him.

Frustrated he stormed to the front and after reaching the door panel, began to furiously type in different codes.

“That door was open when we arrived here earlier, wasn't it?” Fiona asked, while rolling her eyes at the display of Rhys and Sasha.

“Stating the obvious as always…” Jack answered, not looking up from what he was doing, “Someone locked it from the other side. Nothing I can't handle, but it will take some time…”

“Is it them?”

“Probably. It wouldn’t surprise me, if they just waited here for you to come back…Well if they are still here, Gortys is most likely their hostage now.”

“Damn…anything we can do?”

“Just try not to get into anymore trouble before I opened that door. The walls here aren’t as thick as they look. One wrong move and we're all getting sucked into space.”

Fiona was silent for the rest of the time and with Rhys still getting seduced by that man stealing hag, all he could do was to concentrate on overriding the system and hope that no one laid a finger on his ship…

 

 

“Done.” He just said as the heavy doors opened before them, showing them a view of a quite empty hangar. Their ship was gone and another had also vanished.

And no sight of Gortys or Loader Bot.

“They're gone…we’re too late…” Sasha fell to her knees desperately trying to hold back her sobbing.

“Such a Drama Queen…” Jack muttered to Fiona before saying out loud: “They only have a head start nothing more. We can still catch up to them.”

He walked to another panel and after a moment a slight smile formed on his lips, indicating that he had found, what he had searched for.

“Looks like they haven't found it.”

He pushed one of the buttons and a loud creaking noise was heard as the floor panels slide outwards, revealing a hidden room underneath that was illuminated in light. An enormous space ship standing right below their feet.

“Ladys and gentlemen, my little baby. Please no touching.”

“Wow, I´m quite surprised that your little fans hadn´t found it. Looks like some of them worship you like god…” Fiona laughed.

“No kidding. Good that I planned ahead considering those weirdoes, otherwise we had to hijack one of the more casual models.”

He led them down to the dock and onto the ship. Which was quite a difference from that wreck that they had built. Here you definitely didn´t fear for your life every time the ride was a bit bumpy.

“How long until we are on Pandora?” Rhys asked.

“Fifteen minutes if not less. This ship is normally used for space travel, but I think I can make an exception this time.”

“How nice of you.”

“I´m Handsome Jack, kiddo, I´m not nice. I´m awesome.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jack, looks like he isn´t able to get some quality alone time with Rhys. His patience is probably running very low now...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 

The ride was a lot smoother this time, with Jack handling the controls and the ship being surprisingly comfy. No wonder why he didn’t wanted to share it with anyone else…

And because Rhys was nerding over all the high tech equipment, Fiona and Sasha finally found some time to talk in private.

“I still can't believe that we got out of Hyperion alive. I hate to admit it, but without Jack we would be dead by now…”

“You can say that again.” Fiona said, making herself comfortable on one of the chairs.

“Hey Fi? Do you like him?” Sasha asked suddenly looking her directly in the eyes.

“Who?”

“…Handsome Jack. You seem to be quite friendly with him.”

Fiona stared shocked at her, her eyes almost bulging out: “Where do you get that from? That guy? No way!”After a moment she managed to get her composure back: „…anyway he already has someone and even if this weren't the case I would more likely jump out of this window right now. Ugh this probably gives me nightmares for a week…”

“Sorry,” her sister laughed, “You were just hanging out with him all the time.”

“You know how it is on Pandora: Know your enemy like the back of your hand. He´s going to be with us for a while I guess and I just want to make sure, that he doesn´t plan anything. He may be friendly now, but who knows what will happen when we reach the vault…”

“I know what you mean. He is always hanging around Rhys and I´m fearing that he put some dangerous thoughts into his head…”

“That´s why you were talking to him back there?”

She nodded: “Yes I tried to warn him, tried to get him away from that man, but he just wouldn´t listen…”

Well telling her that is because he loved him was probably not a good idea…

“But I won´t give up. He is actually kinda cute you know? I think that this maybe the first time that I´m actually in love with someone.”

She gave Fiona her brightest smile and the other could feel her heart break. She didn´t know why, but she was sure that Jack would win this battle. Rhys might not be sure of what he wants yet, but it is obvious that he things highly of the former Hyperion CEO and being forced to have him stuck in his head for so long must have left its mark on him.

 

 

A screech stopped their conversation. Dumpy was hovering above them, being its optimistic self.

“That gave me almost a heart attack…” muttered Fiona and watched it land near Rhys.

“I'm still wondering why he keeps that thing…” said Sasha, “It's quite useless.. And yet he still takes everywhere he goes.”

“Well he seems to like it.”

Again it would probably be not a good idea to mention that it was a present from Jack…

 

 

“Hey cupcake, look at that.”

Jack waved Rhys over pointing to the console in front of him.

“We can't just land on the same spot as those guys, surprise effect and all, so what do you think? I know what I would do, but I guess you and your pacifistic friends would probably disagree.”

“Probably…”

Knowing Jack he would declare all out war and kill everything in sight, but this would be a horrible decision with their two friends as hostages…

At least he asked about their opinion on this; not like that whole fiasco at the atlas facility…

“We have to sneak up on them…so we need a landing spot that they can't see from their current position. Maybe the other two girls could help? I'm not really an expert on Pandora…”

“I've been there a few times, but I’ve never traveled through here…” Rhys leaned a little bit closer, his arm brushing Jack's shoulder as he reached out.

“How about this place here? This looks quite secluded, also it might be better if the others had a look at this.”

“Maybe…”

Not counting the whole AI in his head thing, this was probably the closest that those two had get yet. With Rhys' face only a few inches away from his own…all he had to do was to turn around a little bit…

And probably give this poor guy the scare of his live…

That Sasha girl was only one room away after all. If she just didn’t have to interfere…

You know what? Fuck it!

The moment Rhys tried to get up again, Jack clutched his hand into the boy's hair pushing him down again.

“Hey pumpkin, guess what.”

“W…what?”

“That job offer I was talking about? Guess I didn't tell you about all the extras that it included.” And just like that he kissed him, giving the younger man no room to argue. Of course he tried to get away, too surprised by the whole situation, not that he had any chance with Jack being a lot stronger than himself.

But this only lasted for a few seconds before he let his body relax, literally melting in his arms. Looks like Jack wasn't the only one craving for it.

“Get a room you two.” said a voice behind them forcing them to end the kiss very abruptly.

Luckily it was only Fiona.

“Not wasting any time I see…”

“With you popping in every five seconds I have to take every chance I get.“ grumbled Jack. Everything was going so smoothly until now…

Rhys on the other hand was just standing there. His head red as a tomato as he watched the friendly banter between the two.

“You're lucky that Sasha had forgotten something back there. She probably would have killed you.”

“As if I was afraid of some lowlife woman...”

“She is still my sister you know?” Fiona answered, “Still wondering why I'm helping you out though…”

“Because I'm a charming guy and you are…”

“Uhm guys?”

“You wish….”

“Hey!”

“Yeah what is it, Rhysie?”

Looks like he finally had their attention again.

“You two were in this together?!”

“Sorry Rhys, but it was quite obvious that that guy over there needed some serious help and I actually think that you two work better together than you and my sister.” Fiona said matter of fact.

“B…but…”

“No buts and please no word to Sasha at least for now…”

“Oh god…this is crazy…” Rhys went away from the two to the back of the ship. There he slumped down on one of the empty seats and stared off to space.

“Yeah that happens…”

“Let´s just hope that this didn´t scared him away…”

“As if. He will come around eventually. I should know.”

“I hope you are right…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that you are waiting for some action between those two. So now that they know that their feelings are mutual it shouldn´t take long for them to get to the next step.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
Rhys felt like the world was crashing around him. Everything about his live lay shattered at his feet, never to be fixed again…All of that just because of a kiss…Up until that moment he imagined a future with Sasha…but now he didn’t even know what he wanted anymore.  
Jack was his idol. He was the only reason he started working at Hyperion and now that very man had shown him that he felt more for him then simple companionship. And for some strange reason he felt happy about it. More so than he ever thought possible, but on the other hand he couldn’t deny that he also had feelings for the girl and willing them away was no option. This will get him into trouble he just knew it…  
“We’re going to land, so better hold tight onto something!”  
Jack's voice brings him back to reality. After landing they would be busy with rescuing their friends and maybe it would be enough time for him to decide what he really wants…or better who he wants…  
“Come on cupcake! You can daydream as much as you want when this is all over, but for now it would be great if you could move your ass over here!” Jack called out to him. He hadn't even noticed that they were already there.  
“Keep it together Rhys…” he said to himself and followed the others outside.  
It was strange to be back on Pandora. It was like returning home after a very long absence.  
“And you are sure about this place?” asked Sasha skeptically. Sure it was definitely secluded, but was it enough for a surprise attack?  
“We didn’t really have optional choices in this matter…” answered Fiona, “The ship isn't really suited to land on most of the surfaces here. Otherwise the distance between us and Vallory would have been too great…”  
“Let's just hope that they haven’t seen us…”

 

They sat up camp an hour away from their ship. There was still a not to underestimated distance between themselves and Vallory, but at the moment there was nothing else they could do without raising too much suspicion.  
“Food should be ready in a short while…” Fiona said to the two men, “Why don't you have a look around in the mean time? I could do without getting attacked by Skaggs or whatever is living out here…”  
“Well, it's not like there is much else to do here…Come on Rhysie!”  
Jack dragged Rhys away from the warm campfire and into the woods that bordered near their place. Fiona was getting them some alone time and Jack sure as hell wouldn’t let that chance go to waste. Rhys belonged to him and no one else.  
“It’s kind of weird to be back here again...” Rhys whispered after a while. They hadn’t really gone far in, but it was far enough that Jack was sure that no one would hear them anymore.  
“Believe me I hadn’t planned this too, pumpkin. I'm happy to be back at Helios once this is all over.”  
“So you really want to return to your former live?” Rhys didn’t look very happy about this…weird….  
“What's wrong with that? It was mine all along, so I have every right to take it back.”  
“Hm…”  
“Just spit it out!” he sounded harsher than he wanted, but why couldn’t he, for once, just speak what was on his mind.  
“I…it’s just…” he began.  
“Yes?”  
“After being here on Pandora for a while, getting to know the people that live here…good and bad….I don't know if I can work for a company that seeks to destroy it...”  
“That's why you didn’t wanted to be the new CEO?”  
“That is one of the reasons, yes.” He answered honestly.  
“And the other reasons?” Jack was curious now what else was keeping the boy from fulfilling the dream he had just a while ago.  
“Uhm…” Oh great we were back to one syllable?  
“Look kid, I'm not really in the mood to play the guessing game here. Just tell me. Man, I even promises not to strangle you afterwards if that makes you feel better…”  
“It actually does…” Still he moved a bit backwards.  
“And?”  
“I…I guess I'm a bit afraid…remember that talk with Vaughn? About me being obsessed with you? Well he wasn't that wrong actually…”  
“No surprise here.” Jack just shrugged his shoulders.  
“I thought that you would be disgusted by me if you ever found out…I wasn't really prepared by…well…the kiss..”  
“„You still worry about that? Relax pumpkin. You’re probably the first person that I didn’t want to murder on first sight. I meant what I said.“  
„This so weird…” Rhys had to smile and it definitely looked better on him than that frown that he wore for the past hour. That was the Rhys that he wanted to see. Except on later hours, there he could cry and scream as much as he wanted beneath him.  
“Can I…?” the rest said so silently that even Jack couldn’t understandable it anymore.  
“What was that?”  
“C…can I kiss you?” Rhys' seemed to redden even deeper if that was possible.  
“A greedy one, aren’t you? Not that I complain about it.” Jack closed the gap between them, the other still looking quite unsure even though it was his idea.  
“You better get used to this.” He said pressing their faces together with Rhys instantly responding to it. At least he didn’t completely shy away.  
This should get interesting in the future and he couldn’t wait to test out how far he would be able to get him before he raised any complaints.  
A willing partner was always a plus.  
He couldn’t hide a slight shudder that ran through his body as the younger man grinded against him, filling his head with naughty thoughts about what he would do to him, when they were truly alone. But for now this had to wait.  
Pushing him slightly away earned him an annoyed groan from Rhys who, face flushed and all, wasn’t ready to stop just now. The bulge in his pants quite visible, even in the darkness of the woods.  
“It was just a kiss, kiddo…geez …”  
It doesn´t look like the younger man was able to will his erection away just like that…He just stood there lost and completely out of it. There was no way in hell that he could face the women that way…  
“You did that on purpose, didn´t you?” He raised an eyebrow, knowing that he wouldn’t get out of this situation just like that.  
“You owe me, cupcake…big time.”  
He waved Rhys over, fully aware that they hadn´t that much time. Well if Rhys reacted like that over a kiss, he would probably come on his own if he was told to. Definitely something he wanted to see, but for now a good old hand job it has to be.  
“If you don´t want to explain any stains you better get rid of your pants now. I mean yeah it would be quite amusing seeing you run around like you pissed your pants, but I don´t think that it would be any help against that Bazooka-Woman.”  
Rhys did as he was told, desperately trying to hide his erection behind his hands as he laid his trousers beside him on the ground. He definitely wasn´t prepared for the night ending like this.  
“No need to by shy now. We shared a body, remember? Nothing that I haven´t seen before.”  
Slowly the hands moved back to the side giving Jack a good view at Rhys´ “problem”. He wasn´t as big as him, but it fitted him just right. And now standing proud before him, it took all his self control, not to let his lust overtake his senses. He might be experienced in this, but it´s been a while since he had any physical contact with anyone and Rhys…He shook his head, he really had to stop that. This was neither the best time nor the best place.  
Slowly running a finger along the underside of the shaft the younger man almost immediately dug his fingers into Jack´s shoulders, holding on for dear live.  
“Cute…” Jack mumbled as he began to stroke him in a fast rhythm, earning a few moans from Rhys who tried his best to keep quiet and not alert the girls to what they were doing here…  
“Jack…I…I…”  
He was close.  
“Come for me, Rhys…”  
And that he did, biting his lip to prevent himself from crying out, releasing into Jack´s hand…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished episode 5 on its release date XD that was some awsome shit that Telltale put together.  
> Will it influence the story? Maybe a bit, but not much.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As said in my other story writers block hit me really hard this time...But don´t worry this story is not dead.

Chapter 8

 

“Took you long enough…” Fiona said, as they returned to camp. . She probably knew what had happened…

“You know how that is with _Skaggs_.” Jack just said, sitting down and helping himself to a bowl of food. Sasha beside him just raised her eyebrows.

“Anyway…” Rhys said in an attempt to change the subject, “We need a plan, if we want to rescue Gortys and Loader Bot. We definitely can't underestimate Vallory in this one. She will probably take the risk of destroying both of them just so that we can't get them back.”

“Your right about that one…And I bet she already began to do a bit of planning herself in case we survived Helios…” Sasha said.

“So I guess we have to be prepared that she is turning our rescue mission around, which means we have to be a step ahead of her. Well, I'm open for ideas,” Jack throw in, his mouth full.

This wouldn’t be easy. Vallory had showed them often enough of how much she was capable of turning a situation around in her favor…

“Didn’t she took interested in you, Fiona? Maybe we could use that?” Sometimes even Rhys had good ideas.

“Of course! Maybe you can talk to her. Create a distraction for us or something. You were always good with that.” Sasha smiled at her.

“Wha..? Why do I always have to do that? I'm not even sure if she isn't going to murder my face the first chance she gets...”

“Well if she is busy murdering you, we should be able to get the others back,” Jack grinned.

“You are not helping here…”

“Looks like this is settled. Well Fi we are counting on you.”

Fiona didn’t look happy about this situation and also it was quite dangerous, it was probably the only way, regarding the short time that they had.

“Let’s just hope that they don't open the vault until then…”

 

It was a sunny morning. Quite contrary to that what they would face soon.

And Rhys counted himself very lucky to be the first to be awake. Normally he could have slept a while longer, but…let's just say the way he and Jack were entangled didn’t leave many question unanswered. At least he hadn’t tried anything over night…

Now the only thing he had to do was to get away from the man. Which was…complicated. He had an iron grip around him and the way it looks he wasn’t willing to let go of him ever again.

“Great…just what I needed…” he mumbled.

He wouldn’t be able to get away from Jack without waking him up that was for sure, but was he really brave enough to do that? It was well known on Hyperion that he isn't a morning person...

Well, he probably had to find that out the hard way…

“Jack?” slightly shaking the older man he hoped that it was enough, but in the end he only tightened his grip…

“Come on! This is getting really weird here!”

He almost pushed him away, using more force than intended, but finally the other opened his eyes.

“Rhysie you really making me angry here…” Jack growled

“If you could just let go of me you can sleep on as much as you want.”

“The sun isn't even up. Relax kiddo.”

“What about the others?”

“What about them?”

“Aren't you worried that they see us together like this?” He was and he definitely wasn’t ready to face such an encounter yet.

“They will find it out soon enough, may as well fasten this up.” Jack didn’t sound worried at all, more like he was looking forward to that…

“Jack please…” he didn’t wanted to sound whiney, but it was probably the only way to get through that thick skull of his.

He heard an annoyed sound from the other man: “Okay, but next time there is no running away. I cuff you to the next available object if I have to.”

“Thank you!” replied Rhys happy and gave him a little peck on the cheek. Only to use the opportunity to finally get away from Jack. Of course they had to deal with this sometimes, but not so early in the morning and not until he was sure about his feelings for Sasha. The last that he wanted was to break her heart.

Getting a bit away from camp he sat down on a stump and watched as the the sun rose. Jack was right about it being too early, but finally he had time for himself to think over everything that had happened until now.

It felt unreal.

All because he wanted to sabotage, Vasquez. And now they were going to open a vault….

It may only be a few weeks, but it felt like years…

 

 

“Everyone ready?” Fiona asked, looking more nervous than Rhys had ever seen her.

Today was the big day, but no one seemed really eager to make the first move. The outcome of their journey depended on their success and it didn’t look good. After having Sasha scout ahead they were informed about the fact that Vallory was more than prepared for any attack that might happen. She had surrounded herself with a little army of henchmen who looked equal dangerous to the woman that commanded them.

“You sure you stick to the plan? Who knows if they even let you near her?” Sasha asked worried. Her sister might be good with words, but that might even be too much for her.

“Don't worry. If it's not working I improvise like always. You just make sure that you are in position.”

“But…”

“Come on have a little faith in me.” Fiona smiled, but it still couldn’t hide the fear in her eyes.

“I just wished there was another way.”

“Me too.” She hugged her tightly, knowing full well that this might be the last time.

“Can we just start already? All this chitchat about dying is really getting on my nerves…” Jack interrupted them being more of an assholes than ever after Rhys had cut short his fun this morning.

“I hope you're the first they gun down…” muttered Sasha as she stood up.

Rhys not far behind after raising his eyebrows at Jack. Was he still in a bad mood about that? Not really, but somehow he felt more on edge since this morning, like something was about to happen…hopefully it had nothing to do with Rhys… that would be annoying, especially if you took into account that he made it into a habit to get himself into trouble….

“Someone's in a bad mood today.” Fiona said after closing up on him.

“I wouldn’t call it a bad mood…more like murdering the first one that annoys me too much.”

“Then we can expect a bloodbath today?” she grinned.

“Probably…you written your testament yet?”

“Ugh don't remind me…you saw what this woman is capable of. I'm lucky if she just straight up kills me…I am good with words and all, but will that be enough? Sasha is right, I will probably not even get near her…but we have to try right?”

Jack shrugged his shoulders as she finished her rambling: “I will definitely not hand over the vault to her.”

“Come on that can't be the only reason. I saw you and Gortys. You can't tell me that you are not a bit worried about her.”

“About a robot? Pfffff….” He was Handsome Jack, he didn’t worry about anything. Still he got that nagging feeling in the back of his head. If he just knew what that meant…

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone finally back again.  
> After vanishing from the face of the earth for three month I´m finally into writing again. At least for my Borderlands story.

One step at a time. Fiona felt worse the closer she got to the camp. Sasha wasn’t joking when she said that Vallory had built herself a little army.

An almost uncountable number of eyes followed her every move as she set foot on the camp.

“Well well, look who we got here…If it isn’t Ms. “My mouth is faster than my brain.” Kroger took a step forward a smug look on his face. If it weren't for the other people she would have probably shot him right there. Finch was nowhere in sight, did something happen to him?

“I’m surprised to see you here. If it weren’t for us your boss wouldn’t even be able to open the vault in the first place. You’re actually quite useless.”

“At least we weren't the ones sabotaging this whole mission. I heard you were working together with a Handsome Jack imposter. We couldn’t believe that you would fall this low…”

Fiona held her tongue. Just let them believe what they want. The higher would be the surprise in the end.

“Not that I´m really interested. Also I must say that I´m surprised to see not a single scratch on you. What happened to your “friends”? Are they here, trying to sneak up on us behind our backs?”

“If you really have to know…they´re dead.” A bluff, nothing more. She doubted that he would believe her, but she had to try at least.

“Really? Is that all that your con artist skills are able of? Not that it matters. We will hunt them down if there on this planet. Once Vallory finally opens the vault there is nothing that can stop us.”

“Speaking of her…I haven´t seen her yet. Don´t tell me she is afraid of one little con artist.” Fiona grinned. She was walking on thin ice here, but to give her friends at least a little chance she had to make sure that the whole attention of the camp was on her.

“Don´t get cocky. She has better things to do than greet a low life like you.” His hands were visibly shaking at this point. Still something seemed to stop him from killing her. She raised her eyebrows at him.

“Oh…I get it now…”

If you thought about it it was quite simple. Something went wrong. They couldn´t kill them, because they were still needed. That would be interesting…

“I don´t know what you’re talking about.” No use, his voice was telling her everything that she needed.

“You´re needing us, because Gortys isn´t cooperating as she should.”

“But this problem is solved now,” a new voice said right behind her.

“With you in our hands she has no other choice than to obey.”

There she stood. Vallory.

That woman had brought nothing but despair to her friends and herself. If only the situation wasn´t so grave.

“Don´t think that you can outsmart me. My men will find your friends and then Gortys will have no other choice than to locate that vault.”

 

 

“Well she´s in. I guess it´s our turn now?” After seeing what they were going against Ryhs wasn´t so sure anymore if that was really a good idea. How should they even find them?

“As long as their attention is on Fiona we should be save, just don´t let them spot you.”

“Easier said than done Sasha. Rhys here is as subtle as a Bullymong in a porcelain shop…” said Jack while grinning like a maniac. At least one of them seemed to be excited about their whole operation…

“Just try to be quiet, okay?” then she looked at Jack, “The same to you. We want to avoid a bloodbath if possible.”

“Lame…”

Sasha shook her head it was like speaking to a wall. She just hoped that he would cooperate for once for the sake of their friends lives. After that he could do whatever he wanted for whatever she cared. As long as he left Rhys alone. She didn´t know what was going on between those two, but she didn´t like it one bit.

It was that look that Jack gave Rhys all the time…Fiona seemed to know something too, but she wouldn´t tell her.

Just what was going on here?

“Come on guys. Who knows how much time we got left. We have to get moving!”

She would get to the bottom of this, but first they had to rescue the others. She had a hunch to where to look and she hoped that none of them was damaged so severely that they couldn´t get away without help.

“In moments like this I wished that I installed some kind of tracker on one of them…” muttered Rhys , doing his best to keep himself from being seen.

“Too late for that cupcake. They would have probably used it against us somehow if they did found out about it.”

“Still I´ve got the feeling that I didn´t do enough to help them…”

“You have enough time to make it up to them after we rescued them. Please just focus on our task at hand,” Sasha said and smiled slightly at him.

That was the man that she had begun to love.

“Right…sorry, I guess I really stop over thinking everything.”

“It had definitely never helped anyone that is for sure…” Jack interfered looking a bit annoyed.

“Always the optimist, huh Jack?”

“What else, Rhysie.”

“What did I do to deserve this…” Sasha pushed them forward to one of the more inconspicuous camps. She could be wrong about this, but most bad guys that she met had the bad habit to think that they shouldn´t keep their hostages near them, but hid them away at a place where no one would suspect them.

If Vallory belonged to that group…well they would find it out in a few minutes.

 

 

“I don´t care what you are saying. You´ve been lying to me from the very beginning.”

Vallory nodded to some of her men: “Find them. They should be around here somewhere. Shoot them on sight, they are of no use to me.”

“Roger.”

This was not how they had planned it. They would never get the robots out of here within such a small timeframe.

“I can see in your eyes that I´m right. They are here? Right? Why don´t you tell them to surrender, than maybe my men will spare them.”

That smug look on her face was enough to set Fiona off. Their planned was ruined either way, so there was no harm in creating more chaos. This woman had to die!

 

 

“What do we have here?”

Sasha could only see through gap, but she was sure that she catched a glimpse of Loader Bot at the other end of the room.

“Is it them?” Rhys asked trying to have a look himself.

“Looks like it. Now we just have to get them out of there...”

Carefully she began to work on the lock while Rhys and Jack secured her back. They were so close, but they could still screw this all up if they weren´t carefull.

“How much longer will it take?”

“Just a moment Rhys. Did something happen?”

Rhys shook his head before reminding himself that she couldn´t even see him: “Nothing, but

I got a bad feeling…”

“Me too. It´s too quiet for such a big camp…” Jack took a step closer to Rhys. It was the same feeling that was plaguing him since breakfast. Something was going to happen, but like hell he would let Rhys get into that mess…

“Got it!”

Lock still in hand she opened the door and stepped in.

“We should go in too…”

Jack had just raised his arm to pull Rhys in as a shot run through the silence. The body of the younger man colliding with his own…

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was more or less going all out the last month to finally be able to upload the next chapter. But here it is now. Guess who our mystery person is? XD

More shots were heard as Jack dragged Rhys´ body inside.  
“Well I guess that answers my question where all those guys went..”  
Carefully laying Rhys to the ground he observed his right side where the blood was still gushing out.  
“Kid got lucky. The bullet went right through him. Doesn´t look like anything vital was damaged, but we have to take him somewhere safe and treat this or he´s probably bleeding to death…”  
“Oh no Rhys!”  
Gortys approached them stopping on the other side of Rhys.  
“He isn´t going to die, right?”  
“Nah…I´m making sure of it.” Jack´s features still not betrayed his true feelings also it was getting harder to maintain…  
“Stupid idiot…” he mumbled, “Stepped right in the path of the bullet…”  
“Here take this.” He had wondered where Sasha had wandered off to. Looks like she wasn´t as useless as he thought. She handed him a first aid kid that she and Loader Bot had dug out.  
“I don´t know if it is enough, but…damn that´s a lot of blood…”  
She glanced up at Jack who was busy patching Rhys up, as something caught her eye.  
“Jack? How got his blood on to your shoulder?”  
“It´s not his…it´s mine,” he answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world.  
“What?!”  
“Got hit before I could close the door. By the feeling of it the bullet is still in…maybe shattered a bone…Nothing I haven´t experienced before.”  
He seemed to shrug it off also he was probably in an equal amount of pain to Rhys.  
“We have to get the bullet out at least.”  
“…if you insist…but first we have to take care of him. Here can you put pressure on this spot?”  
And just like that she was working together with her worst enemy…just because of Rhys..

 

It was like hitting a brick wall…  
The moment Fiona decided to attack Vallory was also the moment she regretted it instantly.  
She still remembered what had happened last time, but she still thought that it would be different this time.  
It wasn´t.  
“Did you really think that you can win? A little girl like you? Don´t make me laugh…”  
“Maybe not, but that doesn´t mean that you´ve already won!”  
Never mess with a con artist, especially one that was totally pissed off at the moment. Of course she had a plan B, but she had hoped that it wouldn´t be necessary. Well so much for that…  
“What are you grinning at?!” spat Vallory.  
“Oh just the fact that this whole area is Rakk breeding territory. And they react quite violent if your making too much of a ruckus…”  
In one split second it dawned on Vallory what exactly Fiona meant.  
“You´re crazy girl. You know what a risk that would mean even for you?”  
“I will do it, even if it means dying here.”  
That was one little detail that she hadn´t told Sasha, but she knew that there was no other way out of here…  
The only thing that mattered was that the others could get away. Maybe she wasn´t cut out to be a vault hunter after all if she couldn´t even defeat one single human…  
Vallory took a step forward.  
Guess that was it then. With her hand on the detonator she prepared herself for the uninvitable.  
“Oh no you don´t!” Suddenly Finch appeared behind her, trying to get a hold of the device. So he was here after all…  
She rolled to the side getting out of reach for him, but no for the other men that where now swarming the area. How it was even possible to find so many volunteers for her cause was beyond her.  
“I´m sorry girl, but now it is time for you to die.”  
Guns were raised, ready for an execution.  
“Let´s see who is faster. You or my men. Not that it matters, you will die anyway.”  
“Then I will take you with me!”  
And then they pulled the trigger.

 

“Please be careful. The last we need is that his wound will reopen.” Carefully they handed Rhy´s unconscious body to Loader Bot. They were positive that the robot would be able to keep him safe if things should turn to the worst.  
“And don´t you dare drop him…” Jack warned him probably ready to turn him into a toaster.  
“No problem bro.” he said, giving him a thumps up.  
Jack turned to Sasha.  
“Don´t look at me like that. It is still your company that is producing these…” she responded.  
“Let´s just go…”  
His own injury wasn´t getting any better either. A quite uncomfortable reminder that he wasn´t a hologram anymore but a living human being that can be killed quite easily.   
Still this was the most exciting thing that had happened up until now. God it was good to have real body again. All the possibilities…but first they had to get out here alive.  
The best option would be to take one of the back routes that weren´t totally overrun by bandits and escape through the woods, but that would mean that they had to leave Fiona behind and Sasha would never allow that.  
But with Rhys being in this state that he was, they couldn´t afford an open confrontation…  
So what were they supposed to do?  
“Maybe we should split up?” Sasha said, as if reading his mind.   
“And then what? Two women against the whole army of that megalomaniac bitch? Don´t make me laugh.  
“Unless you we know how to survive on Pandora!”  
“Ouch…You know that was low even for your standards…” Jack answered in fake shock. He knew quite well what she was getting on, but he wouldn´t let it face him.   
Sash just rolled her eyes: “Look if you don´t have a better idea we should be moving. At the moment it is only important that we get Gortys as far away from here as possible…Let´s just keep the casualties at a minimum...”  
“Great…now I´m feeling like the bad guy here…Although I´m not really getting your change of heart here, I will see what I can do to get those out of here.”  
“Thanks, maybe there is still hope for you after all.” She grinned.  
“Don´t let it get to your head.”  
Facing Loader Bot he said: “You´ve heard the woman.”  
“Is this really okay?” Gortys replied. She seemed reluctant to leave her friends behind.  
“Don´t worry in a few hours we will all be together again.”  
“Sasha…”  
“Come on. Or else there will be nothing to wait for!”  
No one was happy with that decision still they followed Jack to the exit. Now everything was up to Sasha and Fiona.  
He opened the door and came face to face with someone quite familiar.  
“Jack?! Is that you?”


End file.
